[Purpose/Significance] In a context of continuous interdisciplinary and disciplinary integration, it is increasingly common for researchers to switch their research fields. The aim of this study is to systematically and multi-dimensionally reveal the regular characteristics of research fields shifts among Chinese researchers, which is important to contribute to a deeper understanding of the research fields shifts of Chinese researchers. [Method/Process] This study took the principal investigators (PIs) of NSFC projects as the research object and investigated the three-dimensional characteristics of research fields shifts among PIs through changes in the disciplinary codes of research project applications. [Result/Conclusion] The results show that there is considerable and already relatively frequent shift in the research fields within the group of PIs, and the practice of shifting research fields multiple times has also reached a certain scale. Meanwhile, results reveal the characteristics of the phase, continuity, and directionality of the PIs’ shift in their research fields. In terms of phase, more than half of the shift in PIs research fields occurs more often in the early stages of their research project careers; In terms of continuity, more than 52% of PIs have experienced shift in their research fields while maintaining the continuity of their research projects, and a certain proportion of PIs have experienced shift in their research fields after a long period of interruption in their research projects; In terms of directionality, the inflow and outflow of PIs between different research fields show three main characteristics: concentration and fragmentation, proximity shift, and unidirectional and bidirectional. The results provide valuable insights for relevant managers to design specific management strategies and funding measures for researchers who have experienced shifts in their research fields.
Shang Yuanyuan
,
Zhang Lin
,
Cao Zhe
,
Huang Ying
. Three-Dimensional Characteristics of Researchers’ Research Fields Shifts: An Empirical Study Based on NSFC Project Principal Investigators[J]. Library and Information Service, 2023
, 67(16)
: 64
-75
.
DOI: 10.13266/j.issn.0252-3116.2023.16.007
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